In this final article Rev.Griess finishes an exposition of Psalm 50 under the title “God Judges the Church’s Worship.” As we prepare to enter God’s covenantal assembly today, we do well to read Psalm 50 with care and prayer, applying our God’s Word to our hearts and minds.

Here is part of what Rev.Griess has to say by way of explanation of this passage, especially verses 14-15, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: and call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”:

…Worship is not thinking that God needs us; worship is recognizing how much we need Him. What glorious words are spoken in this verse! The Israelites were to see their own need for the sacrifice they were bringing, not to think that their sacrifice was a work to earn God’s favor. What the text is saying is that consciously and experientially realizing one’s need for God is worship!

Instead of coming to church because we think we are pacifying Him or earning something from Him by giving our worship, we come to tell Him, ‘Lord, I have come from a week of trying to obey Thy law, and I have in some points, and even then imperfectly; but I have also failed in so many points. And, Lord, I am struggling with the burdens in my life. I am not able to carry on alone. And because of it, I am in my day of trouble. Deliver me from my sins in the blood of Thy Son. Speak to me Thy gospel. And in this covenantal meeting, receive me on the basis of the One who died for me. Speak peace to me. Convict me, encourage me, that I might carry on.’ This, God, says, is worship (p.406).